Pierce leads Celtics over Magic in anticipated clash

ORLANDO, Florida (Ticker) -- Paul Pierce scored 27 points to
lead the Boston Celtics to their seventh straight win, a 90-80
victory over the Orlando Magic on Thursday.

In what started as a battle for the best record in the NBA, it
was the reigning champs who prevailed, ending the Magic's own
seven-game winning streak. The Los Angeles Lakers (34-8) now
own the best mark - percentage-wise - after routing the
Washington Wizards, 117-97.

Pierce excelled the entire game, consistently keeping the
Celtics a step ahead of the Magic.

"The guy is one of the best in the game," Magic coach Stan Van
Gundy said of Pierce. "They put the ball in his hands, and he
finds ways to beat you."

Kevin Garnett finished with 16 points for Boston (36-9), while
Glen Davis scored 14. Each outscored Orlando big man Dwight
Howard, who was the top vote-getter when the All-Star starters
were announced earlier in the day.

The Celtics kept Howard in check all night, as the MVP candidate
finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out with
2:30 remaining in the game.

"Our guys did a great job of forcing Dwight to take some shots
from further away from the basket where he wasn't quite as
comfortable," said Celtics guard Ray Allen, who finished with
12.

The last four of Orlando's seven straight wins came on its
recent road trip, which was followed by a five-day layoff since
Orlando's win at Denver last Saturday. And it seemed to take
its toll.

The Magic (33-9) couldn't get anything going from the opening
tip, finishing with a season-low 80 points, including a
season-worst, 36-point performance in the first half.

Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis were the only bright spot for
the home team. Turkoglu poured in 22 points, including a 4-of-6
performance from behind the arc, while Lewis added 19.

Outside of Turkoglu, however, the Magic struggled mightily from
3-point territory, making just 3-of-15 attempts.

"In two games now against them, I haven't been able to find
plays that can get us good looks. We've got to make some
adjustments before the next time we play them in March," Van
Gundy said.

It was the just opposite story for the Celtics.

Despite being less than 24 hours removed from a 98-83 win over
the Miami Heat on Thursday, the visitors didn't miss a beat.

"We played great defense, got them to miss some shots," Boston
coach Doc Rivers said. "We may have been more game-ready since
we had just played the night before, and they had the long
layoff, but that can work both ways."

Boston finally opened up a double-digit lead in the third
quarter, finishing the period with an 11-point lead going into
the fourth and never letting the Magic get much closer.

Orlando did cut its deficit to 84-77 on Jameer Nelson's layup
with 2:04 to play, but Nelson missed a jump shot following a
steal. Two free throws from Davis moved the lead to nine with
1:16 to play to ice the Celtics' win.

"We know we are good, but we lost to another good team," Nelson
said. "They did a good job of changing things up on defense,
and we just couldn't hit our shots."

Nelson finished with 18 points on 6-of-16 shooting from the
field to join the three other players in double figures for the
Magic.